Crime Fiction Links of the Week for March 15, 2025

It's time again for Crime Fiction Links of the Week, our weekly round-up of interesting links about crime fiction from around the web, this week with season 3 of Reacher, season 3 of Yellowjackets, Get Millie Black, season 3 of Dark Winds, Dope Thief, Novocaine, The Accountant 2, Daredevil Born Again, the future of James Bond and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week,  
• Molly Odintz shares the best psychological thrillers coming out in March 2025. 
• Kevin Tipple shares his favourite crime novels of 2024. 
• Aggie Blum Thompson shares six mysteries that will make you turn back to page one 
  
• Paul French talks about crime fiction set in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  
• Susan Meissner shares six crime novels set during the golden age of Hollywood.
  
• Nick Kolakowski talks about mining the past for a Hollywood fixer mystery
• Hayley Scrivenor explains why toxic friendships make for compelling crime fiction. 
• John Wiswell talks about how fiction is in conversation with itself and how trends become genres. 
  
• Phil Lecomber recounts the history of Mack the Knife and the Beggar's Opera a.k.a. the Three-Penny Opera.
  

 

Film and TV: 

• Matt Schimkowitz calls Black Bag a knotty, funny spy thriller.  
• Jacob Oller calls Hallow Road a tense car-set thriller
• Adrian Horton calls Holland a twisty thriller that's a disappointing mess. 
• Adrian Horton calls Drop a tight first date thriller 
• Olivia Rutigliano calls Search Party one of the great, under-sung mystery pastiches
• Sandra Mangan shares a guide to the crime dramas Bosch and Bosch Legacy. 
• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Astrid: Murder in Paris. 
• Joshua M. Patton shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Watson. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Virdee.
• Lara Rosales shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Equalizer. 
• Joshua M. Patton shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Rookie.
• Katie Doll shares her thoughts on the latest episode of 9-1-1
  
• Rebecca Nicholson calls the true crime documentary Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke truly jaw-dropping TV. 
• Lucy Mangan shares her thoughts on the true crime documentary Stacey Dooley: Rape on Trial
  
• Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare explain why police procedurals are so comforting. 
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits the 1989 action comedy Lethal Weapon 2
• Paul Hirons revisits the 2007 Danish crime drama The Killing
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2019 supervillain movie Joker. 
  
• Winston Cho and Alex Weprin report that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are rapidly disappearing in Hollywood due to the Trump government cracking down on such initiatives and wonders whether they were ever more than windowdressing in the first place.
• Dani Aguiano explains how and when Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa likely died.
  
• Gene Winfield, who designed custom cars and other vehicles for Blade Runner, Star Trek, Robo-Cop, Get Smart, Batman, The Man from UNCLE and many others, has died aged 97. 
  

 

 Comments on season 3 of Reacher: 

• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Reacher.
• Brian Tallerico shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Reacher. 
• Renaldo Matadeen shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Reacher. 
  
• Diana Keng shares some background on The Pastry Peddler, a café in Millbrook, Ontario, which features as a setting in a recent episode of Reacher.
  

 

Comments on Get Millie Black:

• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the episode 3 of Get Millie Black.
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the episode 4 of Get Millie Black.
  

 

Comments on season 3 of Dark Winds: 

• Christine N. Ziemba praises the performance of Zahn McClarnon in season 3 of Dark Winds.
• Watch a clip from the season 3 premiere of Dark Winds featuring George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford.
  

 

 Comments on Dope Thief:  

• Ellen E. Jones calls Dope Thief a predictable, shootout-packed crime drama, but praises the performance of Bryan Tyree Henry.
• Tim Lowery also praises the performances of Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura in Dope Thief  
• Lucy Mangan calls Dope Thief like Brooklyn Nine-Nine meets Breaking Bad
  
• Elijah Gonzales calls Dope Thief a meandering bust.
  

 

Comments on Novocaine: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Novocaine a throwaway one-joke action comedy
• Matt Schimkowitz calls Novocaine a pained action comedy.
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Novocaine goes numb after a good start. 
• Nicholas Brooks calls Novocaine a brutal action comedy. 
• Renaldo Matadeen explains the ending of Novocaine.
  

 

Comments on The Accountant 2:

• Adrian Horton calls The Accountant 2 a solid action sequel.
• Jacob Oller finds The Accountant 2 much worse than the first installment.
  

 

Comments on Daredevil: Born Again:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Justin Carter shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
• Joshua M. Patton shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
  
• Joshua M. Patton discusses the fates of Foggy Nelson and Karen Page in the Daredevil: Born Again premiere. 
• Joshua M. Patton talks about an Easter Egg which could hint at a character who died in Daredevil: Born Again getting better.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1986 Daredevil: Born Again comic story arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. 

 

Comments on season 3 of Yellowjackets:

• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 

 

The future of James Bond:

• Alex Weprin and Borys Kit report that the sale of the James Bond rights to Amazon are part of a scramble for media companies to snap up valuable franchises and intellectual property.
• Robyn Vinter shares former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan's view on the future of 007.

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Kate Maruyama talks about writing across genres in a shelf-specific world
  
• Sanjena Sathian talks about breaking free of gendered literary expectations.
• Angela Liu talks about reader-to-character interactions and mixed reality storytelling 
  
• Stephen Holgate explains how his career as a diplomat informs his writing.
  
• Victoria Strauss asks if writers are uniquely vulnerable to scams.
  
• Kirk McElhearn explains how to handle online book reviews without losing your mind  
• Locus shares information of the new owners of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 
• Dan Milmo reports that Open AI has revealed a new version of ChatGPT that is allegedly good at creative writing.
  
• Stephanie Converry reports about silent book clubs, which are gaining popularity in Australia. 
• Jason Mojica explains how comic book shops manage to survive and even thrive in a changing retail world.
• The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program has had its funding cut by the US Department of Education.
• Malinda Lo responds to the proposal to ban her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club in South Carolina.
  
• Claire Kirch and Nathalie op de Beeck report that the American Booksellers Association is under fire for not offering support to bookstore which are being harassed for selling books about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and books by Palestinian writers.
  
• The Mysterious Galaxy SFF bookstore in San Diego, California, reports that their shop was flooded.

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2025 Owen Wister Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Foreword Indies Awards in the mystery and thriller categories have been announced.
  
• The shortlists for the 2025 Carnegie Medals have been announced.
  

 

Interviews: 

• Jack Heinrich interviews David Ellis.
  
• Alex Clark interviews Kazuo Ishiguro.
• Sam Jones interviews Virginia Feito.

 

Reviews:

• Sandra Mangan reviews Battle Mountain by C.J. Box 
• Kevin Tipple reviews Battle Mountain by C.J. Box 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon
• Mike Parker reviews Where The Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski
  
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Masked Band by Bernard O’Keeffe
• Janet Webb reviews Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Two Times Murder by Adam Oyebanji 
• Crossexamining Crime reviews Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Second Grave by Jeffrey B. Burton
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Small Fires by Ronnie Turner
  
• BOLO Books reviews The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
  
• Lucy Popescu reviews The Grapevine by Kate Kemp 
• Jen Lucas reviews Cuckoo by Callie Kazumi
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Hunter Squad: Jameson by Anna Hackett 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger 
  
• Robin Agnew reviews No. 10 Doyers Street by Radha Vatsal.
• Alexander Larman reviews The Mouthless Dead by Anthony Quinn 
• Xan Brooks reviews Once the Deed Is Done by Rachel Seiffert
  
• Marlene Harris reviews An Excellent Thing in a Woman by Allison Montclair 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews A Trial In Three Acts by Guy Morpuss 
• Jen Lucas reviews A Village Theatre Murder by Katie Gayle 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews High Tea And Misdemeanors by Laura Childs and tries a recipe from the book.
  
• Carla Schantz reviews Murder in an Irish Garden by Carlene O’Connor.
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Killing Time by M.C. Beaton and R.W. Green
• Janet Webb reviews Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn
  
• Robin Agnew reviews Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn
• Carla Schantz reviews Killing Me Souffle by Ellie Alexander 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Everyone In The Group Chat Dies by L M Chilton 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1940 inverted mystery My Own Murderer by Richard Hull
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1946 Dr. Manson mystery Murder Isn’t Cricket by E. and M. A. Radford 
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1955 Inspector Simon Manton mystery Murder Made Absolute by Michael Underwood  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1959 crime novel Backfire by Charles L. Burgess
  
• Alex Wallace revisits the 1965 near future dystopian thriller Night of Camp David by Fletcher Knebel    
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1967 Nick Carter Killmaster men's adventure novel Seven Against Greece by Nicholas Browne.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1975 adventure novel Mister Brown's Bodies by John Blackburn.
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1975 Black Samurai men's adventure novel The Warlock by Marc Olden
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1979 mystery The Blood on My Sleeve by Ivon Baker
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1980 mystery More Dead Than Alive by Roger Omerod.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits a 1993 Far Side comic strip by Gary Larson which plays with mystery conventions.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Ayo Onatade shares a call for papers for a conference on "Neo-Victorian Criminalities, Detection, and Punishment" at the University of Wolverhampton in Wolverhampton, UK.
• Lucy Knight lists several guests announced for the 2025 Hay literary festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.  
• Ella Creamer reports about the 2025 London Book Fair in London, UK.
  
  

 Research: 

• Gary Krist remembers the 1871 murder trial of Laura D. Fair for the murder of Alexander Parker Crittenden
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Corpse Came in Person" by Carlotta Dale in Punk Noir Magazine  
• "Mind The Flour Dust" by Ute Orgassa in Punk Noir Magazine
  
• "The Chugga-Chugga Toot-Toot Choo Choo Caper" by John Weagly in Punk Noir Magazine 
• "Pebble in a Shoe" by Patrick Szakiel in Shotgun Honey. 
• "Barbara" by Ashley Erwin in Shotgun Honey.
  

 

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Poker Face. 
• Watch a trailer for season 7 of Black Mirror. 
  
• Watch a trailer for season 5 of You.